Pages

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Guest Post: "Why I Write About Goblins" by Andrea Kaczmarek

Why do I write Middle Grade?

Middle grade is the starting point to get kids really keen on books. Of course, the earlier the better with read aloud stories and the old favorites, but middle grade has a special attraction to get kids hooked. My grandson is hooked on the Wimpy Kid series and my granddaughter is hooked on Harry Potter – say no more. My first middle grade was about Worry Dolls, basically a story for girls and from the aspect of school bullies – and this new book is for boys!

Why Goblins?

I once read that witches, wizards, vampires and fairies are over represented in kids’ books. Then I thought – well, goblins could be a bit different. I started out with the idea of writing about a nice friendly goblin – but sadly, Hob Gob changed things, and my little hero turned into a dirty, smelly, greedy little villain. The twins Jerry and Jacob find him on their ‘big adventure’ and can’t wait to get rid of the little squirt. That’s what happens when a story writes itself! And stories always write themselves, no matter what good intentions you have at the start.

Why Ravenswood?

Kitty Honeycutt seems like a hard-working publisher who wants to make a success of things. I hope it works out, don’t we all. Wish us both luck. The websites are very detailed and the MG and children’s books are part of Sunquills. Also, they work together with Scholastic, which I consider good. Watch this space and I’ll keep you posted about Ravenswood.

About me?

Well, I have been writing in my free time for years, but now I have retired from teaching I can spend more time writing and re-writing. A lot of my ideas come from my school experiences, yes, I kept a school diary for a few years – and there are many many stories waiting to be told. But for quite a few years I was also a Town Councilor for the Green Party. My passions were /are education, integration and the handicapped. Language alone isn’t the key to successful integration of our new immigrants – involvement and education are just as important. I have founded a local charity – The World of Reading – and we bring books and stories to kids in our town.

And here is a taste of ‘There’s a Stinky Goblin in the Shed’ – lovely pen drawings by Eva Kuenzel:

ANDREA KACZMAREK

Born in Wales. Teacher training in Weymouth - married with two grown up children - and now grandmother to three amazing and clever kids.

I was a Town Councillor for many years in Hamm with a great interest in integration and education. Today I still work on the Committee for Special Needs and I am Chair of the World of Reading - Lese Welt Hamm - bringing books and stories to children!

I still organise art and English projects at my old school - great fun working with children from many different backgrounds.

Children who enjoy stories and reading have a good start in life!

Jerry and Jacob clean out Gran’s old garden shed to make a den, but on their first late-night walk in the woods behind it, they come across a very strange, grubby little person and their problems begin. A small pile of rags that can talk! The boys want to run away fast, but they take pity on the strange creature. They promise to try and get it back to its own world – GoblinLand.

Hiding a goblin in their den is a full time job. But in the end they find out that Hob had upset an elf, could that be the clue they need? But if the twins think that helping out their grubby goblin friend is the end of the story – they are very very wrong! Once you have let one goblin into your life…..the goblin door has opened!